Anatomy & Physiology Made Incredibly Visual, published by Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins (2009)

This is a wonderful book if you feel you need to refresh your memory regarding biological terminology or you want to rediscover basic human biology.  Think of this book as Human Biology 101 in a highly graphic form.

As the book’s title suggests this is an extremely visual book on the structure and function of the human body. The authors have set the book up as an ongoing art class with supporting “cast members” starring “Inside Scoop,” which offers a close-up look at the internal anatomical structures, and “Go With The Flow,” which helps visualize how the physiological processes work, and finally, and probably my favorite “Age-Old Story,” which features a graphic of what looks like Elizabeth I of England!  “Age-Old Story” notes how the aging process affects the body throughout its lifespan, body changes of which we baby-boomers are very aware!

The book begins by giving us a refresher course in anatomic terms that are very easy to learn because of the accompanying diagrams.  Then we learn about the cell, tissues, and all the different systems in the body, beginning with the integumentary system (the skin) and ending with reproduction and birth.  The style of text is what I would describe as “chatty,” with a cartoon-like component that helps keep the reader motivated to learn all the different terms for the various parts of the body.  After each chapter there is a short quiz which might involve unscrambling words, labeling parts of the body, matching organs with functions, etc., activities that will remind you of your time in biology classes at school!  Even though this is an easy book to read and may seem simplistic, I recommend it because it is not intimidating.  Those readers that feel overwhelmed by science terminology would benefit from using this book as a starting point in their quest to learn more about biology and how cells work.